Photo by James Trump

Winter Black-capped Chickadee

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The Mat Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss on Tuesday night signed the Borough’s budget for 2013, and the mill rates have been set at a lower rate than last year. The final area-wide mill-rate for 2013 is 9.691, down from 10.051 last year. Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss says the average property tax will increase about 70 dollars due to voter-approved bonds for roads and schools.

The mayor made three vetoes to the budget, which the Assembly over ruled. During the regular assembly meeting last night, the Exemption on Inventory taxes was raised to a million dollars, which was a compromise from the Mayor’s original ordinance which would have repealed the tax entirely.

The assembly declined to eliminate the business license, also forwarded by the Mayor. In his regular Mayor’s Minute podcast, Mayor DeVilbiss said the borough is working with the state to combine the business licenses, to reduce the number of licenses a business would be required to buy.

The Assembly also accepted a bid for pre-cast portable toilets, which will be used around the borough, including in Downtown Talkeetna.